News Article

Pune City FC showed Sergio Lobera who's who in the Indian 'El Clasico'.

FC Pune City leaped into fourth place after a brilliant 2-0 win over FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday. By dishing out another impressive counter-attacking performance, they snapped the home side’s streak of three consecutive wins.

It looked like both teams would cancel each other out until the 72nd minute when Marcelinho threaded a pass forward for Emiliano Alfaro, who clinically buried it past Laxmikant Kattimani. Lucca scored another at the end, making it two-nil. Let's take a look at how we rate the Indian players.

FC GOA

The speedy winger continued his performances as his perfect positioning helped the Gaurs to build some attacking moves where he brilliantly gelled-up with Ferran Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote to keep the rival defenders busy. The second session saw him changing his position to left-back where he tried his best to keep his side safe and came up with four important blocks.

Compared to last few games, Brandon had an average outing as the creative midfielder was hardly seen with the ball, while he even failed to mark his presence on the pitch. The midfielder was completely off-colour as he even failed to create any potent chance in the entire 90 minutes of play.

Seriton once again gave his best to keep his side safe. He was the fittest player for the Gaurs and his swift runs down the flank troubled the visitors. His strong defending limited Marcelo’s moves while his perfect positioning, 7 clearances and two important blocks made him the highest rated Indian player for the Goan side.

Ali was at his best as his superb defending in the first half kept his side safe. The centre-back also came up with a few clearances and one important interception in the second half. However, the second session witnessed some sloppy defending from the lad which cost Goa in two goals.

Laxmikant Kattimani- 6/10

Though the custodian conceded two goals in the second half, Kattimani was seen with a high-flying confidence in the first session. He made a brilliant save in the first half, being quick enough to punch the ball to safety before the rivals could get to it. The two goals he conceded were errors from the defenders but he could have done better in at least Pune’s first goal.

Like the previous matches, the defender once again gave his best in the match but unfortunately was substituted in the 54th minute to make way for Pronay Halder. The left-back, before leaving the pitch, made six clearances and two important interceptions with 74% passing accuracy. He also created a chance in the first half but the Gaurs front line could not convert it.

Substitutes

Pronay Halder- 5/10

The defensive-midfielder was introduced in the 54th minute replacing Narayan but could not make any impact. Though he created some swift moves just after coming in, Halder was just a spectator in the later part of the match.

FC Pune City

The centre-back had a decent match in the first half as he, along with left-back Lalcchuanmawia, gave no space to the opponents to break through. The defender played an excellent role in keeping every opponent away from scoring with seven clearances, 3 blocks and one interception. He also created a chance in the second session.

Khan, who had back-to-back goals to his name in the last two matches, was brilliant on the pitch, helping his side build up potent moves, while his strong defending denied Ferran Corominas on several occasions. His all-rounder performance helped his to take away all three points home.

Hero of the Match: Adil Khan

He was one of the quickest players on the pitch, while his 8 clearances, an interception with 75% passing accuracy made him the best Indian player of the match. He was also awarded the man of the match award.

The Young goalkeeper gave his best against the high-flying Goans. Though Kaith was not troubled by the opponents regularly, he made sure that he makes the most of whatever comes to him. The 21-year-old came out of his position on four occasions to punch the danger away, while he also made two brilliant saves to keep the second clean sheet for his side and also for him.

Another Pune defender had a great match as his excellent defending restricted Manuel Lanzarote, Narayan and Brandon in the major part of the first session. The second session also witnessed the similar performance from the defender where he made sure that substitutes Adrian Colunga and Manuel Arana made no difference in the match as both were tightly marked.

The winger made his the first start today and looked a little nervous in the early stages of the match but managed to get back in his stride later. He had a decent outing and made no major mistake in his 83 minutes.

The left-back did not make any special impact on the match with his performance but made sure that he made no mistakes and kept the opposition at bay. He was always present in his position whenever his team was in need, also helping the attack as he made a number of darting runs on the wing. He also created a chance with a fine cross from the left flank but his teammate could make most of it.